| Army Men | |
| Developer: | The 3DO Company (1998–2003) Global Star Software (2003–2007) Twistbox Games (2008) (Mobile Ops) Volcanic Force Studio (2017) (Army Men Strike) |
| Publisher: | The 3DO Company (1998–2003) Global Star Software (2003–2007) Connect2Media (2008) (Mobile Ops) Volcanic Force Studio(2017) (Army Men Strike) |
| Composer: | Jason Tai () Barry Blum (Army Men 2, Sarge's Heroes, Toys in Space, Army Men 3D) Brian Min () |
| First Release Version: | Army Men |
| First Release Date: | 1998 |
| Latest Release Version: | Army Men Strike |
| Latest Release Date: | 2017 |
| Platforms: | Microsoft Windows Game Boy Color PlayStation Nintendo 64 PlayStation 2 Dreamcast Game Boy Advance GameCube Xbox Wii Nintendo DS Mobile OS X |
| Spinoffs: | Portal Runner |
Army Men is a series of video games developed by 3DO[1] and Global Star Software. It is based on various conflicts between four kinds of plastic army men, distinguished by their color: the Green, the Tan, the Blue, and the Grey. Two other factions, the Red and the Orange, as well as a much smaller army, the Black, also contribute to the story. Two additional factions, the Galactic Army and the Alien Army, were introduced in .
The idea of a strategy game using plastic army men arose from the developers' desire to avoid censorship issues with the Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle ratings board when publishing the game in Germany. Chris Wilson, producer of the original Army Men, explained:
Army Men used cutscenes done in the style of Movietone News clips.
was the last Army Men game to be released by The 3DO Company before they filed for chapter eleven bankruptcy. The major franchises were auctioned off, and Army Men was purchased by Crave Entertainment.[2]
In 2004, Global Star Software published Sarge's War. The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were completed by some members of the original Sarge's War development team from 3DO. Global Star then released Army Men: Major Malfunction for the Xbox and PlayStation 2, and planned a Nintendo DS version, which was not released. Both Major Malfunction and Soldiers of Misfortune were unfavorably received by critics.[3] [4] Army Men: Mobile Ops was released for mobile phones in 2010. The series is currently owned by 2K after buying out Global Star in 2007.
A fan made Army Men III was under development by Neotl Empire, but was cancelled and resulted in an open source release of the unfinished game in April 2018.[5] In December 2017, a licensed mobile game in the series was made by Volcano Force Studios under license from 2K Play under title Army Men: Strike [6] that incorporates characters from the Sarge's Heroes subseries.
| Title | Release date | Platforms | Genre | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Men | 1998 | Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color | Real-time tactics | ||
| Army Men II | 1999 | Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color | Real-time tactics | ||
| Army Men 3D | 1999 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | ||
| 1999 | Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Microsoft Windows | Third-person shooter | The first installment in the Sarge's Heroes subseries. | ||
| 1999 | Microsoft Windows | Real-time tactics | |||
| 1999 | PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows | Third-person shooter | Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color versions are re-titled Army Men: Air Combat. | ||
| 2000 | PlayStation, Microsoft Windows | Third-person shooter (PS) Real-time tactics (WIN) | The first installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Operation Meltdown in PAL regions. | ||
| 2000 | Microsoft Windows | Real-time tactics | |||
| 2000 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | The second installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Land, Sea, Air in PAL regions. | ||
| 2000 | Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 | Third-person shooter | |||
| 2000 | PlayStation, PlayStation 2, GameCube | Third-person shooter | Titled Army Men: Air Attack - Blade's Revenge in PAL regions. GameCube version titled as Army Men: Air Combat - The Elite Missions | ||
| 2001 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | The third installment in the World War subseries. Titled Army Men: Lock 'N' Load in PAL regions. | ||
| 2001 | PlayStation 2, PlayStation | Shoot 'em up | Titled Army Men: Omega Soldier in PAL regions for PlayStation. | ||
| Army Men Advance | 2001 | Game Boy Advance | Top-down shooter | ||
| Portal Runner | 2001 | PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color | Platform | Spin-off of Sarge's Heroes subseries. | |
| 2001 | PlayStation | Third-person shooter | The fourth and last installment in the World War series. Titled Army Men: Team Assault in PAL regions. | ||
| 2001 | Game Boy Advance | Isometric shooter | |||
| 2002 | PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, GameCube | Real-time strategy | A 3D real time strategy game. | ||
| 2002 | Game Boy Advance | Isometric shooter | |||
| 2004 | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube | Third-person shooter | The third and last installment in the Sarge's Heroes subseries. | ||
| 2006 | Xbox, PlayStation 2 | Third-person shooter | |||
| 2008 | Wii, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 | Third-person shooter | |||
| 2010 | Mobile | Isometric shooter | |||
| Army Men Strike: Toy Wars | 2017 | Mobile | Real-time strategy | Volcano Force Studios. |
During its later years, the Army Men series was criticized by X-Play[7] and Seanbaby of EGM,[8] for the frequency and declining quality of each new title. The Official UK PlayStation Magazine awarded six games in the series a score of 3/10 or less.[9]